ship images

HMS Campbeltown
was a Batch 3 Type 22 frigate of the British Royal Navy. Built by
Cammell Laird Shipbuilders Ltd. in Birkenhead, she was part of the
third batch of Type 22s, which were considerably larger than their
predecessors and incorporated more advanced weaponry after lessons
learnt from the Falklands War. She was decommissioned on 7 April
2011.

History:

Campbeltown's
last deployment was a seven-month tour from 2007-2008 in the Persian
Gulf, where she operated in support of Operation Calash and
Operation Telic. In early 2004 the vessel was deployed as part of
NATO's Standing Naval Force Atlantic. HMS Campbeltown entered refit
in September 2008.

The ship's bell
of the first HMS Campbeltown, a Second World War Town-class
destroyer famous for her role in the St. Nazaire Raid, has been
loaned from Campbelltown, Pennsylvania to the current Campbeltown
for the duration of her Royal Navy service.

Decommissioning:

The Royal Navy
announced in March 2011 that Campbeltown would be decommissioned on
7 April 2011. She paid a final visit to her namesake town of
Campbeltown, Argyll in March 2011 where a series of ceremonies,
including a town centre parade by the ship's crew, took place to
commemorate the end of the ship's active service. Campbeltown made
her final entrance to Plymouth on 31 March 2011 before
decommissioning in a traditional ceremony on 7 April 2011. She was
laid up at Portsmouth and in July 2013 sold to Turkish company Leyal
for demolition. She was towed to Turkey in Autumn 2013.

The ship's bell
has now been returned to Campbelltown, Pennsylvania. The ship's bell
made specifically for the latest HMS Campbeltown was given to
Campbeltown, Kintyre, to be displayed in the town's museum until a
future Campbeltown is commissioned.